Former Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns star Keagan Dolly recounted his experience playing overseas and looking up to Bafana Bafana's Steven Pienaar.
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As Keagan Dolly continues to revive his career at TS Galaxy, the 32-year-old versatile player opened up about his time in Europe, sharing the highs, lows, and lessons learned from the journey.
Dolly, who spent four-and-a-half years at Montpellier in the Ligue 1, spoke on the Allrounder Podcast and touched on how difficult it was for him to transition from being a big name in South Africa to being relatively unknown in France.
"In the first three months I was there, I would go to the dressing room and sit on my phone and go to training. It was very difficult because you're now by yourself, you come from winning the CAF Champions League and being a big name in South Africa, to being a nobody. I had to start again and build a name for myself," shared Dolly in his chat with Philasande Sixaba and Nono Phongolo.
Despite the difficulties, playing in Europe fulfilled a lifelong dream for Dolly, who mentioned that the 2016 Rio Olympics played a major role in being scouted.
"I think that game against Brazil allowed me to play in Europe. Before Montpellier came, it was Olympiacos in Greece that wanted me. It was always my dream to go to Europe and to play against the best.
"So, when that opportunity came, I went to Sundowns and coach Pitso and I said, 'Look, this is an opportunity of a lifetime, not a lot of players get the chance to go to Europe' and I told them, this is an opportunity to better my life and my families life," stated Dolly, who felt that if he didn’t move at the stage he did, he might've never reached Europe.
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Like the legendary Steven Pienaar, who played most of his football in Europe with Ajax Amsterdam, Borussia Dortmund, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland, Dolly’s football journey started at Westbury Arsenal.
The School of Excellence and playing in Europe are two other things Dolly has in common with "Schillo", as both come from similar backgrounds, with Dolly revealing that Pienaar served as a tangible inspiration.
"Steven Pienaar also played for Westbury Arsenal before he left for Cape Town, and I think that started motivating me to try and follow in his footsteps and to try and achieve, inspire the other youngsters from the hood," shared Dolly, who credited his father for keeping him on the right path.
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